Ora Hannah Overholt

Dictated by Ora Overholt, December 1986, for the Blumer Family Reunion

I was born Ora Hannah Blumer on December 15, 1903 in Okemah, Oklahoma one of fifteen, children, thirteen living to adulthood. The following are my brothers and sisters:

Leona Catherine - died at 8 months of summer flu

Marie - died at 6 months of summer flu

Rudolph Victor (1/30/1897 Dalton, MO) - never married 

Roy Samuel (10/6/1898 St. Louis, MO) - never married 

Harry Howard (5/5/1900 St. Louis, MO- married, 1 son, 1 daughter 

Ora Hannah (12/15/1903 Okema,OK) - married, 4 sons, 3 daughters 

Amentha Flora (2/26/1905 Okemah, OK)-never married .

Esias Walter (2/2/1906 Okemah, OK) - married, no children 

Emily Salma (3/24/1908 Okemah, OK) - married late, no children 

Bertram Bruce (11/20/1910 Stillwater,OK) - married, 1 son, 2 daughters

Conway Eli (06/20/1912 Stillwater,OK) - married, 2 sons, 2 daughters

Trucille Meta (06/27/1913 Stillwater,OK) - married, 2 sons

Lucille Martha (06/27/1913 Stillwater,OK) - married, 2 sons, 1 daughter

Helen Delores (10/5/1915 Stillwater, OK) - committed to Mental Hospital in late teens

Hurley Edward (11/26/1916 Stillwater, OK) - married 3 times, no natural children

My dad, Samuel, was born in Switzerland (12/18/1868 – 3/18/1924, buried Elm Grove Cemetary) and came to the United States when he was 3 years old with his father, Esias, and mother, Catherine. My mother, Mary Koeller, was born in Herman, Missouri (March 25, 1874), the daughter of August Edward and Hannah Myers Koeller who were of French-German decent. Grandpa Blumer was in the funeral business in Bergee, Missouri and Grandpa Koeller was a farmer. Mother and Dad (Sam and Mary) married in May 7, 1895 and were in the funeral business in Dalton and St. Louis, Missouri. Dad didn't do very good. When Mother's folks moved to Oklahoma and bought a farm north of Stillwater (the Whittenburg Lake is part of it now), my folks came too but went to Okemah. Dad did carpenter work there.

When I was six, we came to Stillwater and lived out on East 6th. My first school was Jefferson on North Main Street. Then we moved across Boomer Dam-the house is still there but has been completely remodeled. I went to North Star School for three years and then we moved to the Lost Creek neighborhood (12 miles South of Stillwater), first house west of the church. I went to Salem school, later changed to Lost Creek. We lived there for ten years and then Dad bought the homeplace southwest of Lost Creek. I went to Center View School until the eighth grade.

Mom thought I needed a change so I went to Norman and lived with Aunt Julia, Dad's sister. I did housework and finally got to work at a boarding house for a while. I then got a job at the Knights of Columbus Fraternity House (room, board, and $250 a month). When school was out, Mom made me come home because she thought I was getting serious about a boy there. I went to work at the Farmers Union Store in Stillwater for three years.

On April 1, 1923 I injured my eye. A group of girls were getting ready to go to church one evening. I wore glasses and had taken them off and was adjusting my hat which was going to need a hat pin. The girls were standing in front of a mirror that had hinges on part of it and it kept swinging forward. I had a pin cushion in my hand with hat pins in it and as the mirror swung forward I took the hand with the pin cushion and pushed it back and as I did one of the hat pins flew out and stuck in my eye. The pin was taken out and I was treated by Dr. Barker at Guthrie for a month or longer but the pupil kept shrinking so the decision was made to remove the eye.

I married Jesse Merle (Buzz) Overholt on October 25, 1923. Nona and Harry Blumer went with us to get married, it rained all the way. We were married in the old parsonage of the Presbyterian Church in Stillwater by Reverend Allen Davis. We had seven children; Jess Herbert, Leona Grace, Norma Gene, Darrel Wayne, Beverly Ann, William Carol, and Richard Allen. Jess had pneumonia when he was nine days old and was treated by Dr. Gray, our family doctor. Buzz had a truck line for several years (only truck in town used to haul poultry, eggs, etc.. to stores. Farmers would eggs and cream to them and they would calibrate the amount of Cream/butter. They would sell to stores for farmers. This was done in a small building in the alley behind the hardware store.) -sold out and went into the poultry business with Raymond Reddout. This didn't work out so he went into business for himself. He did real good for several years; quit in 1937 and we went to Ramsey Oil Field for 1 year and then back to Stillwater in 1939 and got In the poultry business again. Too much competition so he quit again. We divorced in 1957.

I babysat for one year then went to work at the Gold Spot Creamery for six years until they moved to Enid. I worked at the bakery for one year and then the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority for one year. They sold their house so I went to work at the Beta House and worked there approximately ten years, working at the hospital during the summers. Finally I. quit work. Gene, Darrel, Bill, and Dick finished college; Jess and Leona lacked just a little; Beverly, no, she went to Oklahoma City and found work and is still there. I have six living children now lost Jess on December 4, 1985, which was hard but so is life. I have 17 grandchildren and 14 great-grand- children plus in-laws. I have a nice home but it is still too small when they all come home.

My life has been full – up and down, but that’s life!!!

Norma Gene passed away 2/13/1993. She lived in Waco, Texas.